Word Power

Though there have been many times in my life where the spoken word has caused me to react in various ways, two come to mind that thirty-eight years apart. The first somber example happened when I was thirteen (about two months shy of my fourteenth birthday.) My father had just been killed in a car accident, and my paternal grandparents had come to spend time with our family. I can never forget what my late Grandma Kinker said to me. “Now you’re the man of the house.”

Over the years, I’ve thought about the power of that statement. By no means, do I feel my grandmother meant any harm with that statement. To her, it was a fact that someone had to step in to help my mother with all the duties around the house. I was the oldest child of a total of three. I had no idea how to step in the shoes of my father. How does a teenage boy do that? Though I slipped into the role of “mom’s helper” so effortlessly, I found out year’s later that my mom had felt she’d leaned on me more than she should have.

The second comical example happened for me at the age of fifty-one. My wife who had a part-time job as a cashier at a local store got me a part-time position as a utility worker at that same store. One of the store’s employees told my wife it would be nice to have an adult working along with the college-age cart retrievers.

I was thrilled to realize I would be working with another adult until I realized I was the adult being mentioned. Though my wife had told me to not embarrass her, many times I could do a great impression of acting child. If I was the chosen adult in this group, someone was about to be disappointed. The only thing I could do was rise up to what they expected of me. I could do this for the sake of my family (and the bills this salary could pay off). Can you see by both of the above examples the power that words (and thoughts) had on me? Be careful with what you say because you have no idea of the affect it might have on someone.